South Colonie budget calls for deep cuts

The South Colonie Board of Education passed a $91.9 millionbudgetTuesday night that includes cutting 43 jobs.

The budget would be less than 1 percent bigger than the current spending plan. Despite $2 million in concessions from administrators and unions, it still calls for cutting 19.5 teaching positions.

Superintendent Jonathan Buhner said the district is still reeling from some $4 million in annual state aid cuts enacted since 2008.

“It has been a demanding process,” Buhner said after the board vote. “It is increasingly difficult to provide the same amount of service with less people.”

In the parts of Colonie that fall within the district’s boundaries, the tax rate is expected to grow from $24.66 per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $25.31. For a home assessed at $150,000, that would mean an increase of $97.50 to $3,796.50.

For Niskayuna residents who live in the district, the projection is for the tax rate to climb from $16.65 per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $17.09. And Guilderland home owners who are in the South Colonie district would see an estimated tax rate hike from $19.31 per $1,000 to $19.81.

17 Responses

What really needs to be done is a cut in teachers and administration salaries. Some of these employees are overpaid.
The school board should be ashamed for letting the salary and benefit packages get so out of control!

@ unbelieveable, true words coming from someone who has no idea what its like to be a teacher. I have seen your posts on a bunch of different websites and all you do is complain about teacher salaries. THIS IS NOT JUST IN SOUTH COLONIE!!! This is not just our district, open your eyes DW and stop being so ignorant. After you become a teacher, then people should listen to you about how much they get paid. Until then, stop complaining, and support the ones who are responsible for educating YOUR children.

Get in the game, unbelievable, The article states: “Despite $2 million in concessions from administrators and unions, it still calls for cutting 19.5 teaching positions.” So in addition to the concessions from those still employed, those 19.5 positions all got a pay cut…to zero.

@ trueteacher
I have a good idea what a teacher does. Work 6 hours a day for maybe 180 days a year. That is border line part time work. I have read your contract, so I know exactly what you get. Any teacher making more than $75K is overpaid. Why is it that as the student population goes down, the budgets still go higher?
When I see my taxes go up year after year, (with no end in site) I have every right to complain about what teachers are paid. The 2000-2001 budget was almost half($58M)what it is now. There is no justification for such an increase in the budget.
The taxpayers are not an endless ATM machine for you to keep taking money from!

@ Eddie
Of the 19.5 teacher position reductions, maybe 4-5 will actually lose their job. The district has been using these scare tactics for the last couple of years and no teachers have been laid off. They just reshuffle the deck after retirements.
The concessions were not enough. They will still get a 1% raise on top of the step increases they get. Not to mention an extension of the contract for another year, which will guarantee more raises and no change to their benefits. The only people losing out here are the students and the taxpayers.

unbelievable…you may THINK you know what teachers do and have to deal with but until you ARE a teacher you have no right to call out what you THINK. You are the perfect example of pure ignorance. Does 6 hours a day include all the work teachers have to do at home? Afterschool? You are 100% wrong about that. How can you even compare the 2001 budget to right now? Is gas the same price? Is food the same price? You still think 4-5 teacher will lose their jobs? You are wrong, more than that will lose their job buddy, and they are GREAT teachers..The student lose in the long run, thats the problem right now, thats what people should be concerned with. Plain and simple, you are ignorant…Support good teachers especially the ones (more than 4-5) that are losing their jobs. Don’t even think about calling teachers out based on what you THINK, you are not even close to a teacher or have any idea what they deal with

@ unbelievable….How dare you say you have a good idea of what a teacher does, you have absolutely no idea unless you ARE one. You have no clue how much time teachers put into class prep, before and afterschool, grading, extra help, planning, etc. You have NO idea!!! You are the perfect example of pure ignorance. There are great, not good, great teachers losing their jobs. The students lose out in the long run, thats the big issue here, thats what should be everyones big concern. Teachers border-line PT? Wow, people that say that prove how much they really don’t have a clue, you are walking a very fine line by saying that. What would your child’s teachers say if you said that to them face to face? I understand that some teachers make a lot of money, but did you ever think that they may be really good at what they do? You should be ashamed of yourself of some of the things you say (6 hrs a day, part time), I know most teachers would consider that a slap in the face, and they are probably the ones who teach your children, and if not someone you know. Shame on YOU

I would like to say as a parent of a child in the South Colonie School
District that we have been fortunate to have wonderful, involved teachers. They are there early in the morning long before school starts and sometime very late to work in the classrooms and set up for our students. Then they participate in PTA work, then they do the contests and activities for the kids and I could go on. They spend countless hours outside the classroom that no one figures into their time.
I am guessing the naysayers out there have been well educated by teachers yet want to shut the door on the kids that come after them.

@ trueteacher
What you and all teachers need to understand is that most people agree with what I am saying. Why do teachers think they are special and deserve more than the average person?
That almighty and I deserve more attitude is what people can’t take anymore.

@trueteacher…. @unbelievable is spot on in blaming teacher salaries and benefits as the reason for school taxes being so high. In a bad ecoenomy where other workers have sacaraficed salary and benefits, Teachers continue to see raises and no increase in their share of benefit costs. Teaching, no matter how noble a job, is just a jon no diferent than others. Do you think your job is more critical or valuable than others? Teachers only work six to seven months a year, that is a fact. If you work during the summer, you receive additional pay along with your ANNUAL salary. The days you do work are six hour days. Some distritcts require teachers to stay after school an extra hour on some days to assist students who need extra help. Even so, you are not working a full 8 hour day. You have scheduled periods during the day when not teaching to review student work. In my time, teachers all used to have to get summer jobs to make ends meet. Now salaries and benefits have gotten so high that teachers are paid like legislators, who only work part-time. State employees recently took salary cuts,m future salary freezes, and now payn 31% of their health insurance premiums. How much do teachers pay in health care premiums? I’ve heard as little as 2% with significantly lower co-pays for doctors and medications. At a minimum, don’t you think it is time that teahers also paid their fair share og the cost to employ them?

Just a couple of last comments for me, because some of things you say are valid, but some are not.

Do you think your job is more critical or valuable than others? I believe very much so that a teachers job is VERY critical, they are in lots of ways, responsible for the future of the kids, just like they were responsible for you and your future. To judge whether it is a profession that is more valuable than others is not fair, it is very valuable in its own way, but I wouldn’t say more than others. Every profession helps make the worlds clock tick.

The days you do work are six hour days….This comment is absolutely crazy. Just because a school days is 6-7 hours, DOES NOT mean a teacher only works 6-7 hours. There are teachers who easily work 8 hours a day, sometimes more. To think that teachers only work 6 hours a day is just ignorance, you really have no idea what takes place in a school as teacher, before and after class.

That almighty and I deserve more attitude is what people can’t take anymore…In no way have I ever thought teachers believe that they are almighty and deserve more. I don’t really know what teachers you are talking about here.

My daughter has a Masters in Education(History) and my son in law has a Masters in Education(Physics). After two years of sub teaching and not being able to find a teaching job, my daughter now is in another line of work which is totally non educational related.I chalk up her education as something she will always have, however, it would have been nice if she was able to actually use her education to teach. Besides not being able to find a job in the field, one of the main reasons she decided not to persue teaching was because the students are just plain horrible! Is doesn’t matter which school district she was subbing in, the student are disrespectful know-it-alls, that would rather argue then actually pay attention, listen and learn.
My son- in- law does teach. He goes the extra mile for these kids, before school , after school and during weekends, he tudors, creates projects, and finds creative ways to try and keep the kids interested. The hours outside the classroom he puts in are endless, so before you condemn the teachers on their salaries versus the hours you think they work, stop and think would I want to be in this line of work? I bet your answer is Heck, NO! Teaching is probably one of the most thankless jobs you can do because of people like you, you truly are…Unbelieveable!!!

Hey “Unbelievable”, don’t you know everyone in the education system is there for the “kids” and not the paycheck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and just think they laid off some lunch ladies to come under budget this year!!! Keep up the good work guys!!!!

I have lived within eyeshot of Sand Creek Middle School for 20+ years. I am usually making coffee at 5:00 – 5:30 am each morning. A non-scientific observance, most teachers seem to arrive 15 minutes before classes begin and vacate the premises just as quickly after the school day has come to an end. Although, I do seem to see the same “few” cars there day after day an hour or more after class hours. Just like anywhere else you may work, you have those that just want to get by, and those that really take their jobs with some semblance of dedication.

This makes me sick! How about cutting sports programs first? Why should tax dollars go towards funding someone else’s kids play time instead of acadmics/teachers salaries and benefits? Sports should be supported by families of the children who choose to play. Get off your butts and do some fund raising!

Oh and with all of the businesses in Colonie, there shouldn’t be any budget problems anywhere. And what about lottery money? The state rakes in millions which is supposed to fund education. If this were true, not one school should be letting go of their teachers. This state is a mess!

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